School’s out. Whether you have kids home on vacation or visiting kids in your household, you’re gonna have to counter the “I’m bored” with something to do.

“Between hours sitting in school (with recess abridged or abandoned), time spent inside playing video games, and parents preventing kids from playing in messy nature, kids today hardly ever get to spin, flip, roll, climb, hang, race, or shimmy. It’s something that deeply worries pediatric occupational therapist Angela Hanscom—who traces these restrictions to everything from kids’ growing inability to tolerate wind in their face to the

increasing number who actually fall off their classroom chairs. “ {source}

Here’s our best no-electronic-screen-involved ideas (besides, of course, all the beaches of Sarasota County):

• Plant their very own pumpkins to turn into jack-o-lanterns
• Have a picnic then read a book (Phillippi Estate Park is a nice shady spot)
• Go for a hike in each park in the county
• Gather frogs, butterflies or other bugs (and then set them free)
• Try to identify bird songs
• Toss water balloons (try these eco-friendly ones)
• Go camping – try Oscar Sherer or just the backyard
• Go fishing, canoeing or kayaking
• Set up sprinklers and a slip and slide
• Set up a water table for toddlers and preschoolers
• Is s/he 15 or older? Why not get certified as a Lifeguard?
• Play hopscotch (Forget how? Here.)
• Take bike rides: here’s the Legacy Trail trailheads
• Hold a hula hoops contest
• Play hide-and-go-seek
• Jump rope
• Blow giant bubbles (use this easy DIY bubble recipe)
• Create a backyard obstacle course
• Visit all 5 nearby state parks